Insider Selling: Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) CFO Sells 2,817 Shares of Stock

Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) CFO William Richard White sold 2,817 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.79, for a total transaction of $86,735.43. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 38,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,180,334.65. The trade was a 6.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Akero Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AKRO traded down $1.32 during trading on Thursday, reaching $29.03. The company had a trading volume of 332,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 844,207. The company has a current ratio of 17.25, a quick ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.32 and a twelve month high of $37.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $30.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of -7.74 and a beta of -0.23.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.15). As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Akero Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Simplify Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Akero Therapeutics by 15.6% during the third quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 283,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,141,000 after acquiring an additional 38,279 shares during the last quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 1,499,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,188,000 after purchasing an additional 112,426 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 32.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 251,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,894,000 after purchasing an additional 61,988 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 26.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 107,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,000 after purchasing an additional 22,195 shares during the period. Finally, Propel Bio Management LLC increased its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 4.9% in the third quarter. Propel Bio Management LLC now owns 343,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,862,000 after purchasing an additional 15,977 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup started coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Akero Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.83.

Akero Therapeutics Company Profile

Akero Therapeutics, Inc, together with its subsidiary, engages in the development of treatments for patients with serious metabolic diseases in the United States. The company's lead product candidate is efruxifermin (EFX), which is in Phase 3 clinical trials that protects against cellular stress and regulates the metabolism of lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins throughout the body for the treatment of biopsy-confirmed metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) patients.